Jaqueline Cristian returns an incredible match at Indian Wells and advances to the third round. A fierce duel with Sabalenka follows
Romanians Sorana Cîrstea and Jaqueline Cristian move on to the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament, one of the most important in the WTA circuit.
Jaqueline Cristian Photo/EPA
Sorana Cîrstea (35 years old, 38th WTA place) won the match with Diana Shnaider in two sets, 6-2, 7-6 (0), and qualified for the third round. The Romanian clearly controlled the first set, and in the second she won the tie-break without emotions.
Shortly after, Jaqueline Cristian (27 years old, 35th WTA place) also qualified, after a much more difficult match with Maya Joint. After losing the first set 0-6, Jaqueline came back, won the next two sets, 6-2 and 7-5, and turned the match around.
In the next round, Sorana Cîrstea will play against the Czech Linda Noskova, and Jaqueline Cristian will have a very difficult match with Aryna Sabalenka, one of the favorites of the tournament. The titular Indian Wells champion is Mirra Andreeva.
The game started very hard for Jaqueline
Jaqueline, the top-ranked Romanian player on the WTA circuit at the moment, qualified for the third round of the Indian Wells Open after a match full of twists and turns with Maya Joint. The Romanian prevailed 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 against the 19-year-old Australian, the same player who last year defeated Cristian in the final of the Rabat Open tournament.
Joint clearly dominated the first set and quickly won it 6-0, in just 27 minutes, and the Romanian fans in the stands were surprised to watch the evolution on the field, fearing that the Romanian could have physical problems.
Jaqueline Cristian will meet Sabalenka
Things changed completely in the second set. Cristian found his game and controlled the exchanges, managing to equalize in sets after a convincing 6-2. The deciding set was much more balanced, with points contested until the end. In the end, the Romanian was more confident in the important moments and closed the match 7-5.
In the next round, however, the Romanian will have a very difficult mission, because she will meet the main favorite of the competition, Aryna Sabalenka. Before reaching the second round, Cristian passed Janice Tjen in the first round, after another long match, won 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).
